By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

It continues to be a busy month for the Ellis County Rural Fire Department, as crews have been called out four times in the last three days.

On Tuesday afternoon, firefighters were dispatched to a sizable grass fire outside of Hays north of Interstate 70 and east of Home Depot. The fire extended from I-70 to 41st St. just east of Home Depot, at 1310 E. 41st, burning up to the concrete behind the store.

Crews were also called out to a pair of vehicle fires over the weekend. The first one, according to Rural Fire Chief Darin Myers was reported in the 100 block of Sleepy Hollow Road, approximately 7 miles north of Ellis.

Myers said the fire was accidental/undetermined and the vehicle was a total loss.

A second vehicle fire was reported at the intersection of 260th Avenue and Buckeye Road Sunday at 1:45 p.m. Myers said the Ford pickup caught fire while the driver was traveling down the road. In an attempt to avoid the fire spreading, the driver stopped the vehicle in the intersection.

But the strong wind caused the fire to spread to wheat stubble and milo for about a mile. The fire also spread to two different groups of trees. Myers estimated one group of trees were about one acre, the second was approximately 2 acres with a number of large trees.

As it began to get dark, Myers said they pulled all firefighters out of the trees so nobody would get hurt by falling trees and broken limbs. They left a group of firefighters on scene for about five hours to make sure it didn’t flare up again. Crews were on scene for a total of 12 hours Sunday.

Monday afternoon at about 2:30 p.m., Myers was in the area and checked on the trees and found a considerable amount of flames coming from the trees. Crews were on scene for about an hour and a half Monday extinguishing the hot spots.

Plainville crews assisted with a tanker and a brush truck.

Myers said crews battled gusty winds, blowing at 45 mph Sunday, causing air filters and fuel filters to plug with dust and dirty air from the fire.

Crews were also called to the 800 block of Dorrance in Ellis to assist with a structure fire Saturday afternoon.

According to Myers, Ellis County Rural Fire has received more than a dozen calls so far in October, already more than last year.